Sisters of Mercy ~ October 27, 2008 ~ The Town Ballroom ~ Buffalo, New York

Words by Kris Dreessen / Photo by Bob Krzaczek

"I'm lying on my back now, The stars look all too near. Flowers on the razor wire, I know you're here," sings Andrew Eldritch, surrounded by applause and silhouetted in the wispy murk.

Every Sisters of Mercy show is performed in a haze from the fog machine set on full blast. You don't ever really see Eldritch and his touring guitarists, so much as feel them against the red, yellow and blue backlights.

It's a nice mood setter for set-opener "Ribbons," and "Crash and Burn," a Sisters of Mercy song you can only hear live. Eldritch had bitter contract battles with East West Albums years ago; the company wanted him to release work but he refused because the contracts were so onerous. Eldritch still composed but fans couldn't buy the work anywhere. Concerts were the premieres — a sort of bittersweet treat.

He played plenty of these at the Buffalo show, including "Will I Dream," "Summer" and "Romeo Down." Although East West released Eldritch from the contract, it seems unlikely Sisters of Mercy will ever make another studio album, so hearing unreleased work is part of the live experience.

Sisters also played staples, of course, such as "Dominion," "First, Last and Always," and "Flood I," which are still standards on dance floors.The sound was clearly off. The vocals were too low, which is a shame because Eldritch's snarly inflections are his trademark. So are his poses. As a performer, he's a minimalist; small calculated movements, big response. He was a bit more mobile this go round but his hired guns strummed and did most of the moving.

The sound got better in the latter half, but overall it was a good — and rare — showing. The Sisters of Mercy don't tour often. If you're a fan or know they are icons of the industrial, gothic genre and instrumental in creating the scene, you go.

There aren't too many surprises at concerts these days. At a Sisters show, there can only be so many. Dr. Avalanche, the drum machine, is a perfect player but preprogrammed. There are no spontaneous requests. This time, the opening band supplied the unexpected. I expected a sort of emo/moody band with the tempo of sliced cheese. Instead, four guys sporting long hair and a lot of tattoos picked up guitars and drum sticks and beat their instruments to death with fast, 200 bpm, hell-grinding metal. Bison was tight, somehow melodic in their frenzy and a true shock.

It was like Neil Diamond opening for Metallica and most the fans (who didn't run to the back room) seemed to go for it, clapping and laughing, wondering how such a match made and getting riled for Sisters.

Eldritch rounded their show with an encore of "Something Fast" and "Vision "Thing," and left us with "Lucretia My Reflection," the unreleased instrumental "Top Nite Out," and the crowd favorite "Temple of Love

For more info go to: www.thesistersofmercy.com